Cee’s Fun Foto challenge : Sepia Tones

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

Lace trim, wooden boards

An old cottage stands lit

by sun; idyllic

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/03/03/cees-fun-foto-challenge-sepia-tones/

Posted in Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, haiku, photography, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: 5th March 2014

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Posted in photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge: Toilets Week 1

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014     New Zealand

Since I was a tiny child, or so my mother tells me, I have had a bathroom fetish. She tells me that as a child when we went to someone’s place for morning tea or a visit of any kind as soon as I had my foot in the door I was demanding to look at the bathroom. “You’ve just been Irene you don’t need to go again.”

“But mummy I want to look at the toilet.”

This embarrassing behaviour continued into my adult life with me carrying out surveys on way in which the toilet paper was hung. Do you hang so it goes over or under, is there a gender difference in the toilet roll hanging behaviour?

I read books on the history of toilets and friends gave me anything they could find regarding Thomas Crapper. Although he did not invent the flush toilet he certainly made the toilet popular and for this I was eternally grateful. The ballcock was his invention and having grown up in my early days with the pan and the stench of it I could certainly also see the value in this.

I have largely left my undesirable behaviour behind but I can’t resist on occasion snapping toilets and their surrounds that for some reason appeal to me. Such as the toilet we came across in a paddock in New Zealand. Unexpected but a welcome relief. I’m getting to old for the squatting behind a tree caper.

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The Swiss toilet is the type that you would expect to see in Australia and seemed so totally out of place in the ordered setting of Switzerland.

The Swedish toilet – I just loved the flushing system. It was so different to that which we have in Australia and it always seemed to work unlike our Aussie models. The French toilet was in a camping ground that we stayed in. I found the toilets in the camping grounds so different from what I was used to as most of them are unisex. Not being used to showering with unknown men it was strange to walk out of the shower to have a conversation with an unknown man with shaving lather all over his face. The elevated aspect of these toilet blocks I also found quite intriguing.

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Naturally our Australian models are totally normal taking advantage of the dual flushing system to conserve water. Though even here there is the odd delight.

© irene waters 2014 Australia

© irene waters 2014
Australia

 

 

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/02/27/cees-odd-ball-photo-challenge-week-1/

Posted in Cee's Odd Ball Challenge, photography | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

Weekly Writing Challenge: Threes (Skulduggery)

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

Having her back to the street as she concentrated on obeying the ATM’s commands she was unaware of the man behind her until his hand clapped over her mouth preventing the scream that rose in her throat from cutting into the winter’s night. Kicking he dragged her to a waiting London black cab. Once inside  he removed his hand from her mouth. She looked at the unknown man sitting  opposite, an older man, a man old enough to be her father. He lounged back with a self-satisfied smile upon his face.

“Where are you taking me? What are you going to do to me?” Her white face, round eyes and quavering voice gave away how she felt despite the defiant stare she was giving him.

“No harms going to come to you love. I promise you that.”

Suddenly she recognised the red scarf around the man’s neck. It was one she had given her father when she was eight, just before he had disappeared. They had looked for him but no trace had ever been found. She sat back. Not quite relaxed but somehow that scarf reassured her. It was going to be okay.

The car drove up to a huge stately house. A butler hurried forward, paying the cab driver and leading them in. No-one spoke. They waited in the lobby before a man hobbled down the stairs holding a kerosene light. He was almost bent double, his face road-mapped with lines of not only age but also pain said  “This way miss.” He continued down the next flight of stairs into the basement and then down another flight of stairs which led to a narrow tunnel. Single file they continued, the light of the lamp guiding them until once again they were in a larger area lit with candles. The fear rose like a wave in the surf about to break as she felt the deadly ambience of the place that made her think of  satanic rites involving sacrifice. She could see her body laid out, naked with her long blonde hair hanging off the table, moving slightly as she struggled to free herself from her bonds. She hadn’t noticed the stalls had BIN numbers written on them as terror gripped her, not releasing as they continued on, into another tunnel which led from the end of the cavern.

Claustrophobia now added another dimension to the fear as the tunnel was now damp and descended rapidly.  A warm light suddenly replaced the darkness. They had entered a grotto with light shafting in through holes in the rocky roof. The water in the cave bottle green and calm. Opposite her she saw her boyfriend, just before the world went black.

The boyfriend rushed to her side whilst the old man and the man from the taxi gathered around her.

“She hasn’t got a pulse” the boyfriend said as he pulled her onto her back and started doing cardiac massage. “Ring for an ambulance” he said in between breaths.

“There’s no reception down here”

“Get some help”. The boyfriend frantically pumped her chest and inflated her lungs whilst the younger of the two men raced back up the tunnel.

“Don’t die. I just wanted to surprise you.”  the boyfriend whispered, the engagement ring lying forgotten in its box on the rocks.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/writing-challenge-threes/

1. Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned, 03.03.14 | Markie’s Daily Blog

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3. Dreams Insult My Intelligence | Bumblepuppies

4. Pillow talk | Never Stationary

5. stone | FamousFeline

6. Weekly Writing Challenge: Threes | A mom’s blog

7. Smile | The Seeker’s Dungeon

8. Threes: Haikus from Pictures! | Blue Loft

9. Winter Storm Titan Haikus | Fish Of Gold

10. A Tribute to my Mum – the Unbeatable Woman | Dreams Will Catch You

11. Confession About My Boy Band Obsession | Embracing the Journey

12. Weekly Writing Challenge: Threes – Tori Sinks with the Sun | Just Be V

13. Gone with the Waves | Artfully Aspiring

14. It’s In The Lost & Found | Lead us from the Unreal to the Real

15. Spring’s here! | Scent of Rina

16. Haiku X 3 | Musings of a Soul Eclectic

17. Do You Have Silver Ties? | Home’s Cool!

18. Friends far away | Nagoonberry

19. House in three photos! | Scrapydodog

20. Weekly Writing Challenge: Threes – Long walks and dark chocolate

21. The Road Maps of Life | Lifestyle | WANGSGARD

22. If anybody asks, you didn’t see me. | Trucker Turning Write

23. Coach Athlete | The Wind Beneath Their Arms

24. Weekly Writing Challenge: Threes~~Sheila’s Poem |

25. Blue Boredom Tape Men: Battle of the Pepsi graveyard | The Bohemian Rock Star’s “Untitled Project”

26. Natasha’s Challenge | Mary J Melange

27. abandoned, broken, and dreaming | memoirs of an unremarkable man

28. The Simple Pleasures | Outmanned

29. Iditarod Trail Invitational | pencil me in

30. Innermission | The Shady Tree

31. A Tale of Two Worlds | Victoria.K.Gallagher

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34. Lady By The Lake — 3 Images /1 Story | eyevpointofview

Posted in Daily Post prompt and challenges, fiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Sunday Stills: the next challenge: Swedish Barns in black and white

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist

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Barns are not a feature of the Australian rural landscape whereas the further the north you go in the Northern Hemisphere the more important they become. A barn (named after an old English word for barley) are predominantly used for the storage of crops and livestock.  In Australia the outside temperature does  not drop too low and animals can live year round out in the paddocks. The Australian farmer does have a large shed where he will store his farm equipment such as his tractor. There has also been a growing popularity for barn eggs meaning that the chicken is running around in a shed pecking about in the dirt floor but is safe from marauders such as foxes and quolls. This is currently seen as far more friendly an option for the chook as free range eggs puts the hen at risk of attack. So somewhere, in Australia, in egg production areas there are barns.

In Sweden however barns are an essential to keep the animals alive over the winter and store the crops. Often they are found attached to the house so that the farmer can have access to the animals when the snow drifts are high. In early times the heat from the animals helped warm the humans housed directly above the animals. Dried dung was often used as a fuel for heating.

Old farm building in the countryside are a wonderful reminder of the history of the area such as in the following photos. They are often the oldest building standing on a farm and its construction tells us about the period in which it was built. All the buildings in the photos are old, with two of the buildings have sod roofs. The turf acts as an insulator to keep the warm air inside. In the other two photos the barns have a log roof. The photo with the three farm buildings showed a difference in building style to the house which had a tile roof. In the other photo the house and barn are again attached to each other with all having the log roofing.

http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/sunday-stills-the-next-challenge-barns-in-black-and-white/

Posted in Sunday stills: The Next Challenge | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Phoneography Challenge: Black Swans (Nature)

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

A group of black swans

swimming idly on the river

peace and harmony

http://lensandpensbysally.wordpress.com

Posted in haiku, Phoneography Challenge, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Macro Monday : river pebbles

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

Posted in Macro Monday, photography | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Eses’s Weekly Shoot and Quote Challenge: Diversity

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

 “There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. 

There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.” 

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

http://esengasvoice.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/ese-s-weekly-shootquote-challenge-diversity/

 

Posted in Eses Weekly Shoot and Quote Challenge, photography | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Seven Awards in One

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist

A Big Thank you to Sherri who is probably sitting in her summerhouse writing her manuscript or writing one of those posts we love so much or perusing her photographs for just the right one for the memory that has come to mind. She’d love a visit – she always has time for a chat so drop in on her at  http://sherrimatthewsblog.com/2014/02/19/awards-part-three-the-shauny-award-for-blogging-excellence-and-seven-awards-in-one/

Sherri has nominated me for the seven-awards-in-one.

The seven awards included in this one award are

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My nominees can add these to your posts as separate items or you are welcome to use the badge I have created for the seven awards placing them all in one place. IMG_0028As Don Charisma has shown you can create award badges and indeed create new blog awards  http://doncharisma.org/2014/01/01/the-im-not-featured-on-freshly-pressed-award/

I have followed his example on this one though not as creatively. I fine I am not as techno savvy as I would like. .

I cannot on a quick search find the beginnings of this award but I imagine like the 7 awards relating to films it has probably got  its origins from the Magnificent 7 and what a magnificent 7 these are.

The seven in one award means that you have influence on your readers either by creating an emotional response or causing them to think, you shine light on their world and you stay loyal to your blogging mates by visiting them as often as you can. Not only that, this award also means that you are versatile and creative in your blogging  and with the cracking Crispmouse Bloggywog Award it means that you spread one or more of the following – joy, peace hope &/or love.

Wow – and this is what Sherri has nominated me for and I am honoured and humbled to accept.

Here are the rules for the Seven Awards:

1. Display the logo on your sidebar

2. Link back to the person who nominated you

3. State 7 things about yourself

4. Nominate 15 (or so) bloggers for this award

5. Notify the nominees of their nominations

Seven Things About myself

1. There isn’t a lot that you don’t already know

2. I am heading to my 40th year anniversary of commencing my nursing training next weekend.

3. I’m worried that I have Alzheimer because I don’t recognise a lot of the people that I did my nursing training with.

4. I am glad I am going with a friend because I will know at least one person there

5. I love walking

6. I love taking photographs whilst I’m walking

7. I have horrible feet

My Fifteen Nominees

http://garden98110.wordpress.com

http://cindyknoke.com

http://61musings.com

http://ceenphotography.com

http://halfeatenmind.wordpress.com

http://litadoolan.net

http://bobsbooksblog.com/about/

http://doncharisma.org/about/

http://catherinelyonaddictedtodimes.wordpress.com

http://lilmisspoutinessegues.wordpress.com/about/

http://womenlivinglifeafter50.com/

http://positivewordsmagazine.wordpress.com/about/

http://unclespikes.wordpress.com/uncle-spike/

http://ittymac.wordpress.com/about/

http://mewhoami.wordpress.com/about/

Posted in Awards | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Silent Sunday

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
© irene waters 2014

© irene waters 2014

Posted in photography, Silent Sunday | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments